Forgetting the result at the weekend there are plenty of good signs for Bristol City currently this season: not least how they lead the league for late goals.

The Robins have scored seven times in the final 15 minutes of matches this season. The next best is Leeds United on six.

And further, City have not yet conceded in the final 15 minutes of a game. In fact they have yet to concede after the 66th minute (Sheffield Wednesday, 1-2) in the league this campaign. Another league-leading statistic.

Wishing to know why this was we asked the head coach in the pre-Stoke press conference what might be behind the improvement.

Bristol City manager Lee Johnson looks on

On not conceding late goals, Lee Johnson explained that having a fitter squad was helping.

"I think we’ve got a young squad which helps. Obviously, I think, younger players, naturally, are fitter. They don’t have some of the niggles and knocks that older players have.

"We keep trying and I think that’s a big strength of this squad. We keep going, we don’t lose too much belief.

"We’re not the silkiest, talented team but we’ve got a lot of grit and determination and when people seem to write us off we seem to be able to work extremely hard and bounce back. Then I think we’ve been doing a lot of work on our, what we call, 'clutch' defending.

"Last year there were some flaws in that, we conceded too many late goals and it’s just a case of the lads learning, becoming more experienced and working together, first and foremost," said Johnson.

We enquired whether the squad was improving its defending in those 'clutch' moments that Johnson made reference to last season as well - an American sports term meaning the vital stages of a match, usually the last few minutes - due to improved psychology.

"I think psychology is huge. It's a massive part of football," admitted Johnson.

"You can’t make a player today better tomorrow, technically or fitter but whether it be myself, their teammates, the coach or the crowd it can give them at least 20% [boost] through a positive mentality.

Bristol City head coach Lee Johnson

"It’s up to the players, actually, to work extremely hard on that and do their extras at home and get the tools to get themselves out of situations because if you’ve played any type of sport, or even at work, anyone can relate to having doubts in their mind.

"What’s important is when any player does have those doubts they can snap out of it and create that positive mindset," he explained.

And to that end, Bristol City employ sports psychologist Bill Beswick - who has also played a key role for Jamie Carragher and others as well as working within the national set-up.

"I do think psychology's a huge part of the game and Bill's a fantastic man," explained Johnson of the Robins consultant.

"He's an excellent psychologist and he's also a coaching mentor for me personally and the coaches.

"We speak to Bill a lot because he's got a lot of experience and in the coaching field," explained Johnson of a key but usually unseen member of the backroom team at Bristol City.

"He works for the club as a consultant and we've used him for the last couple of seasons. And I personally have used him for three or four years," added the head coach.

We spotted Beswick on the team bus arriving at Bolton last season.

And Beswick's work appears to be bearing fruit with City's strong minds so far producing when it counts most: scoring late and not conceding late.

"Football's moved on. When I started, footballers used to run the other way instead of talking to me, a football psychologist," said Beswick to Radio Five Live last Thursday night.

"It was deemed a weakness to speak to a sports psychologist. Football is far more sophisticated now, far more mentally orientated. Setting a team up mentally is very important," he said.

Beswick has also been a coach himself - taking charge of England's basketball team (winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games) giving him an insight into team culture, language and terminology used. He cites that as an important experience for his work.

His CV includes working for Nottingham Forest (as performance coach), Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Holland as well as England seniors, u18s and u21s. Also Manchester United, where Gary Neville and Roy Keane have been influenced by him.

Beswick is 73 but doesn't dress as a member of the coaching team, by choice, but possibly could. Team presentations are a key trait for getting the message across.

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"With younger players it's always important to have patience. We all grow and mature at different rates. And I think the best thing you can do when you have a young talented player whose personality doesn't have that confidence yet is to be a neutral friend and wait for them to be willing to share something with you," said Beswick to Guillem Balague last week on relating to the players of today.

"Because that moment will always come."

Maybe Bristol City's time will come too. And if it does then Beswick will likely be a key part of that.